Ban on cow slaughter not a good decision – P. Sainath

June 6, 2017, 8:23 AM IST

Hyderabad: The decision to impose a ban on cow slaughter is in fact an anti-cow decision since it is not only against the human beings but also against the cows.

Noted author, Mr. P. Sainath told this while delivering V. Hanumanth Rao memorial lecture. He said that ban on cow slaughter is not only anti-Muslim, anti-Dalit, anti-Adivasi but it is also anti-cow since there is no one to take care of cow. Farmers are leaving their cattle in forests since they are not able to maintain them and there is no permission to sell cows. They also cannot slaughter cows.

He further said that he treats this decision as anti-cow because there is no one to take care of cow. Those who maintain cows serve them till they give Milk. If the cows stop giving milk, they sell them. On implementation of this notification, corporate institutions would benefit. Narrating the difficulties arising out of implementation of ban on cow slaughter, he said that a situation like Maharashtra and Gujarat would arise wherein a large number of cattle would be found on the roads which block the paths for hours together. This also hinders the development of the cities.

Mr. Sainath told that in Maharashtra after the ban was imposed, farmers instead of selling the cows are leaving them on the roads or in the forests. If they leave in the forest, the problem of feeding the cows does not arise but the cows become the prey of big animals. He narrated that in a society where there is no arrangement for maintaining cows and other cattle, such a decision becomes disadvantageous. He also told that beef is not eaten only by the Muslims but it is used by Dalits, Adivasis and various communities in Eastern States of India and also by many foreign countries. This notification would affect all those who consume beef. He requested the stake holders to consider this issue seriously since it is not a religious issue. They should assess the damages arising out of not using beef.